


Bronze Wings

by goldarrow



Series: Dragon!ARC [5]
Category: Primeval
Genre: Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-25
Updated: 2019-08-25
Packaged: 2020-09-26 07:37:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,905
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20386069
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/goldarrow/pseuds/goldarrow
Summary: Stephen joins in with the military group's flying training.





	Bronze Wings

**Author's Note:**

> Ditzy, Blade and Lyle belong to fredbassett, Blackwood is mine.
> 
> Disclaimer: Everything recognisable asPrimeval belongs to Impossible Pictures. I just borrow them for fun. I shall return them in immaculate condition once I’m done with them.

Bronze Wings

"Are you sure you want to do this?"

Stephen turned to see Ryan leaning against the door jamb. The captain was fully kitted up, his harness neatly latched, everything in its place. Staring sadly at the mess in his own hands, Stephen sighed slightly.

"Yes, I do," he said softly. "But I'm not really sure the equipment wants to let me."

Ryan straightened up with a grin. "Use a hand?"

Almost without his willing it, Stephen's hands held the tangle of webbing out to the captain. "Please. I think I started it off wrong, and I haven't been able to work out how to get myself out of the tangle."

Ryan took the harness from him, examined it briefly, then grasped it by the shoulder-pieces and shook it hard. Somehow, the tangle magically unwound into a perfectly shaped harness, only needing an adjustment of the chest band to look like it would fit Stephen like a glove. The tracker gaped at it, stared at Ryan, and then shook his head.

"H-how?" he stuttered.

Ryan actually laughed. "It's a common problem. If you put the flash-bang in first, for some reason it sets the balance off, and the moment you attach the knife to the other side, it winds up the fibres. A good shake clears the knot."

"So knife first, then grenade." Stephen nodded, filing the data away for future reference.

"Exactly." Ryan took the harness again. He stretched it out and motioned Stephen to turn his back so he was facing the large mirror on the wall. "Right. Hold your arms out behind you."

Stephen obeyed, eyeing the mirror carefully. He watched as Ryan fed the large arm-holes up to his shoulders before wrapping the chest web around him.

"So, you make sure everything is settled well." Ryan instructed, and Stephen shook his shoulders a bit. "Good. Then you take the side-release buckles on the chest strap and push them together. They should click in." He demonstrated, the click as the two ends latched loudly enough to hear easily. "After that, you pull the webbing tight – but not too tight. You want to be able to breathe easily, but not have the harness shifting. There's a bit of stretch in it, so you have some wiggle room."

"Okay." Stephen adjusted the chest strap, then duplicated the connection and adjustment with the waist strap. Ryan stepped around him, checking the fit, then nodded.

"Good to go." The captain waved Stephen to follow him, and headed for the armoury. "I'm going to trust you with live weapons." At Stephen's wide-eyed start, Ryan grinned. "We won't be using them, but you need to get used to moving rapidly with the weight attached. If you need to Shift quickly, then you have to be able to get in and out of the webbing without any hitches. And you'll need to learn to remove the harness in a way that you can still grab it with your talons without shedding bits."

"Which wouldn't be a good thing, considering how many of those bits make pretty big bangs," Stephen said, nodding. "Thanks for this, Ryan. I know I'm going to be way behind on the skills, and I do appreciate your including me."

Ryan shrugged as he attached a combat shotgun to Stephen's harness, making sure he set it for a left-hander. Stephen stopped him with a reminder that he shot long guns right-handed. "Ah, that's right. But back to the subject, I'd actually like it if all – or at least most – of the anomaly team scientific staff were willing to get some extra training. You never know what might come in handy out in the field."

"Hmm." Stephen thought for a moment. "I'm pretty sure Abby would like the training – especially if she doesn't have to actually shoot anything living. Connor would love it – but you'd have to lock down his weapons, he's a bit too interested in being allowed to actually shoot a gun."

"Not the most optimal situation," Ryan replied. "But we can work with it. Sometimes taking someone to the range and teaching them the basics can calm them down. I'll put it on the list." He glanced at Stephen as they walked down the corridor toward the exit to the training field. "What about Cutter? And Claudia and Jenny?"

Stephen burst out laughing. "No worries about Claudia. I think she'll surprise you. She's actually a crack shot." Then he sobered. "But I'm not sure about Cutter. He hates not immediately being good at anything he tries, and sometimes he acts like he's too old to learn something new."

"Again, not optimal," said Ryan, "but I think a few private lessons might work with him. Many people who are at the top of their fields have the same issue." He grinned. "I'd love to have Claudia join us. She sounds a firecracker."

"Uh-huh. Butter wouldn't melt in her mouth, and then she yanks out the big knives and cuts you off at the knees. Her cousin Jenny's more direct, she doesn't bother to hide the knives. They grew up together, so they're both experienced with guns. I haven't seen either one fly, so I don't know anything about that side." Stephen pursed his lips. "What about the ARC personnel?"

Ryan raised an eyebrow. "Thinking about Lester?"

Stephen nodded, grinning slightly. "And Lorraine."

That pulled a snort from Ryan. "No need for Ms Wickes to have any extra training. She was MI5."

Stephen whistled. "Wow, now I'm even more frightened of her than I am of Lester."

"People do have hidden depths," Ryan murmured. He stopped at the door to the training field. "Ready?"

Taking a deep breath, Stephen nodded. "Ready!"

~*~*~*~*~

Stephen stumbled into the showers, covered with mud and laughing like a drain. After the last two hours, he had an even greater respect for the abilities of the Special Forces team. He also felt great relief at their consideration for the newbie in their flight. They said he picked up the finer points of group manoeuvring much more quickly than they'd anticipated, but he really wasn’t too sure about that, considering that Lyle had needed to almost perform a somersault in the air to avoid flaming him once when Stephen zigged when he should have zagged in an avoidance manoeuvre.

The clap on his muddy shoulder surprised him.

"You did pretty well out there," Lyle stated, but then ruined the faint compliment by adding, "for a civilian, anyway."

Stephen contented himself with a dirty look, but it was Blade who surprised him by sticking up for him.

"He did more than pretty well," Blade said quietly. "His aim with both weapons and flame can't be beat. I'd hate to go up against him and Finn together."

Stephen felt his cheeks heat as he headed toward the shower. "Thanks, guys. I really enjoyed it, and I know I learned a lot." He stepped under the hot water, but leaned back out to add, "Even though I still can't manage to do the tuck and roll harness attachment without giving myself a full-body mud-pack." He pointed at his muddy clothing in the hamper.

A chuckle sounded from the other side of the showers where Finn was scrubbing wildly at his hair. He seemed to be doing his best to remove enough leaves and twigs to fill a small flower arrangement from it. "Not to worry about that," he replied cheerfully. "Took me a solid week of trying before I got the timing down."

"Fuck yes," Lyle laughed from the other corner. "A couple of times I thought he was going to wrap his wings up in it, still unShifted, and scrape a ditch in the ground with his muzzle."

That made Stephen feel a little better, even if he had only managed two of what he considered decent tuck and rolls. He finished cleaning up, headed for the locker room again and pulled a fresh set of clothing from his locker. Luckily, a few months into the formation of the Anomaly group, he'd started leaving a clean set in his locker. It had taken only one time of being sprayed by one of the ancestors of a skunk to teach him a lesson.

This time, it was Ryan's hand on his shoulder that made him jump a little.

"Will you stop that," he whisper-yelped. "You scare the hell out of me every time."

Ryan, damn him, simply grinned. "Improve your situational awareness, then, Hart. It's crap."

Stephen was beginning to think that at this rate he was going to use up his entire week's quota of dirty looks in one day. "Hmph."

"Just came to let you know that Lester is going to ask the scientific groups if they want to join in for some training. You impressed him, and that's not easy."

Right, not just dirty looks, but blushes as well. "Wow, um, thanks." Then he thought for a moment. "But won't that take away from your training time?"

Ryan shook his head. "Not really." He smiled evilly. "He's upped our budget to allow for extra equipment and munitions. Win-win, in our book. The civilians end up a little easier to herd, and we have more fun."

"That sounds good. But you'll need to watch out for Abby. She's really quick. I think she's going to be even more of a chop-and-change artist than Blackwood."

"You and Finn as a team, Abby and Blackwood as a team. We're getting some depth in our groupings. Always a good thing."

Stephen gave his hair one last scrub with the towel, leaving it standing on end without even noticing. He was too nervous about what he was about to do. It took two deep breaths before he could get the words out.

"Are you free for dinner this evening?"

Ryan nodded, glanced around, then added quietly, "And breakfast tomorrow, as well, if you're interested."

The words hit Stephen right in his groin. "Damn, Ryan, give a guy a little warning," he grumbled as he adjusted his trousers. At Ryan's slightly concerned look, he said, "And I'm interested."

They walked out side by side, shoulders brushing every few steps. Halfway across the atrium they heard Connor's "YES!" and glanced back to see him pumping his fist in the air. Ryan chuckled, and Stephen looked up at Lorraine, who was sitting at her desk and smiling at them.

"Looks like the civilian training has been scheduled." Ryan's voice was quiet and close in his ear.

Stephen shivered at the warm breath on his neck. They had barely passed through the doors when Stephen yanked Ryan to the side, somehow catching him by surprise, and pushed him into the one spot that the cameras didn't cover. Stephen knew that there was no way he could force the soldier to do anything he didn’t want, so was gratified when Ryan didn’t fight him, simply pulling him in closer.

One of Ryan's habits was a full-body hug, something that Stephen would never get enough of. Their lips met in a deep kiss, tongues tangling and fighting for supremacy before Stephen surrendered and allowed Ryan to plunder his mouth.

Breathless, they parted. Ryan's pupils were blown wide and his cock was a hard line against Stephen's belly. Stephen took some pride in the fact that he could turn Ryan on with just a kiss.

"Let's go home," Ryan said, and Stephen nodded happily.


End file.
